I'm relitivly new to playing guitar and i'm attemting to switch my playing from just playing along with chords (and a few licks) to playing lead. My primary music is the dead so i'm obviously im most insterested how Jerry plays. I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on scales to master or tricks to practice that would help me begin my journey on acquiring the Jerry sound

Learn some theory too. How scales, keys, and chords are made, how they relate, and etc. etc.

I recommend the CAGED system much more than learning scale patterns. But after your finger dexterity is good and you thoroughly understand the theory, my recommended method is to just close your eyes and try to find a melody with your "inner ear."

Then the real goal is to properly cultivate your "inner ear." Listen to broad ranges of music; everything from Jerry Garcia to Claude Debussy. Practice feeling the emotion of different music: this will train your ability to be musically articulate in your own emotions. Moving beyond Rock and Roll is important for this. Rock is danceable music, and not really geared toward carefully articulating emotion (there are the occasional exceptions).